Tech —

Android Appalooza: Get started on your holiday shopping

The trick is that you don't even have to leave the couch.

So, you want to participate in all of the holiday sales that are going on today, but you don’t want to leave the couch? Fortunately, the Internet and its many available services have made this possible. And if you've got an Android device handy, there are also a couple of apps that you can install that will enable you to shop right from your smartphone or tablet so that you never have to venture into that terrible, evil place called "the mall." Here are just a few of them to get you through this consumer-driven weekend. Go ahead, make yourself a turkey sandwich with yesterday’s leftovers and indulge in the fact that you don’t even have to leave the house today to do your Christmas shopping.

This app is curated for the shopaholic. Google Shopper simply helps you find things to buy. Looking for mascara on sale? Select it from the front page and it’ll show you which brands are having sales. Shopper also helps you find local sales and prices, looks up reviews and specifications for things like gadgets, and even looks for video of a product. You can also scan items with the included barcode scanner if you’re at a store to find out if it’s cheaper elsewhere.

If you subscribe Amazon Prime, then you already know the wonders of online shopping. But even if you don't, you can find practically everything you could ever want to buy for anyone on this one site--and do it all from your Android smartphone. The app also features a bar code scanner and lets you add items to your wish list, as well as peruse through similar items.

In the event that you do feel like leaving the house, Milo helps you stay local. If you’re looking for something specific like say, a teapot, type it into the search bar and Milo will scope out which nearby store carries it as well as which stores have the item in stock. You can also use the application to buy something from your phone, and then pick it up later at the store.

Mint is a personal financial app that displays all of your bank accounts and finances in one easy-to-read package. It also breaks down the entirety of your spending history and lets you know when you're teetering dangerously close to zero dollars. Mint also updated its Android app today to include budgeting and split transactions. For the holidays, this is probably the number one app that you want prominently displayed on your home screen.

There are a lot of Android apps on sale for Black Friday weekend. Shame they aren't mentioned. Most notably, QuickOffice Pro (phone and tablet HD versions) is 99¢, down from $14.99. And SwiftKey (also in both phone and tablet HD versions) is $1.99, down from $3.99. Reddit has a whole bunch of them, I think it's in /r/Android or /r/AndroidApps, but I'm on mobile, so I can't (easily) link it. Easy enough to get to, though.